"It's trendy to be the conscious emcee / but next year, who knows what we'll see?..."

Emcees that are all about the revolution are like a dying breed these days. I'm not talking about the so-called "conscious" emcees, I'm talking about real political emcees that make unconventional music with a deep, heartfelt message. Gone are the meaningful songs about social protest and political commentary, all we have now are a bunch of morons who complain a lot, saying the same simplistic shit. They think just cause they say "Fuck Bush!" in a song they're being 'political' and that their song has a 'message'. Cats like Public Enemy are hard to find nowadays. Hell, even P.E.'s image has been tarnished, as Flavor Flav's pathetic excuse for a reality show on VH1 has turned the once respected 'Revolution Crew' into a joke, kind of like how 911 was a joke to them back in the day. Luckily, we have emcees like Akir to rekindle the fire that P.E. started in the 80s. In 2004, Akir (which is reportedly an acronym for 'Always Keep It Real') shook up the New York underground with his street album, "Street Edition Vols. 1 and 2". It was the material on this album that got him the label of "the next Nas" by critics. Without a major label behind him, Akir sold and promoted the album to a wide audience and got some exposure from it. A remix to his song "One" was featured as the closing track of "Revolutionary Vol. 2", the sophomore album of fellow political emcee Immortal Technique, and that got him even more exposure. With the help of Tech's Viper Records, Akir is hoping to create his own legacy in the Hip-Hop industry. Not a legacy of commercialism, mind you, but a legacy of revolution. With his official debut record, the aptly titled "Legacy", Akir has arrived to show you what the game's really been missing.

Following an interesting spoken word intro, the album hits you at full force, right from the beginning. The album's first two songs are enough to convert you into becoming a fan. First up, we have "Rites of Passage" a three-piece ode to Hip-Hop - nothing new, I know, but you gotta appreciate how he does it here, especially since the verses were originally written in 1997 and despite that fact, Akir is still able to make it sound fresh. Through three verses, Akir follows the evolution of Hip-Hop: in the first verse, he takes us back to the beginning, speaking on what life was like for him when Hip-Hop just starting out; in the second verse, he's speaking on how things got a little harder for him as he grew up and how Hip-Hop started to deteriorate; in the third, he blatantly attacks the sorry state that the industry is at now. The production is the most interesting aspect of this song, as the beat switches up for each verse: the first verse has a jazzy, piano melody which turns into high octave sliding scales before the second verse, and then gets even more classically based right before the third verse. Following this we have "Mood Music", the obligatory battle track. But don't let my use of the term 'obligatory' fool you, cause Akir rips the track to shreds. Backed by a powerful beat laced with a rapid piano loop, produced by Southpaw, Akir provides us with a clear introduction as to who he is, shredding the track with his multi-syllable rhymes. In the third verse, he addresses the critics comparing him to Nas, and notes they did the same thing when Nas was just starting out: "Firs things first, I never tried to be like Nas / see, I'm my own man - respect to that nigga though, Paw / it's the same thing they used to do to him with Ra / take it as a compliment, and nod as I hit the top". He goes on to speak on the haters and tells us his views on bootlegging his material from the net. Needless to say, these are two of the best tracks on the entire album.

It should be no secret that Akir doesn't like the direction that this world is heading into, so many of the album's songs are politically charged. The major example would be the album's first single, "Politricks", which finds Akir speaking on the injustices faced by young black citizens in the U.S., over a rugged orchestral beat that he produced himself. On this track, he uses his skill to reveal the wrongdoings of the government, as seen in this tongue-twister from the second verse: "Politicians that be gargling that garbage shit / bargain with anonymous officers of opposite doctrines / for the legal tender documents / pocketin' the profits off the rockets while they kick us out the projects". On the harpsichord-laced "Treason", we find Akir teaming up with label mate Immortal Technique, spitting some of the most poignant politically charged rhymes on the whole album. Akir rides the beat perfectly, as he attacks those who 'turn their back on their people'. Adding fuel to the fire, Tech comes on the track spitting political rhymes mixed with braggadocio. Tech also appears on the album's bonus cut, "The Louisiana Purchase", where he and Akir are joined by Poison Pen and Mojo. In this track, all four emcees state some of the conspiracy theories of what people think happened in the events leading up to and after Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, the production on this track isn't as strong as the some of the others on the album, so some of the impact is lost (the very same could be said for the solo track "Apocalypse"). But without a doubt, one of the major political standouts of the album is the track "Kunta Kinte". Subject-wise, it's sort of similar to "Treason", but it's even better than that track. Starting out with a cut up sample from the Jim McKay HBO film "Everyday People", Akir talks about being responsible to one's community, as he compares the black working class to the slaves of old, over a head nodding beat, laced with a somber acoustic guitar loop. This one just needs to be heard to be believed, that's all I can really say.

However, Akir's scope is much broader than those emcees whose music revolves around politics (like Immortal Technique). Like some of the best emcees out there, Akir is able to write great songs based on his surroundings. "Legacy" has its share of street poetry, and all of those tracks turn out to be on point. Continuing a track he had on his first album, "This is Your Life (Part 2)" is a 'black soap opera', as Akir himself has described. The track is packed with imagery as he recalls the stories of two different people doing what they need to survive. Similar to this is the equally moving "Change of the Seasons", which finds Akir and Hasan Salaam providing vivid narratives of the ghetto over some touching production laced with pianos and choral arrangements. But it's not just about the cats around him; Akir also bases some songs on his home life as well. He emotionally speaks on the eternal power struggle between love and work on piano-laced "No Longer My Home", and reflects on the long road he had to take when he chose music as a career move in the bossa nova-flavored "Homeward Bound". He also decides to experiment in a few tracks, such as "Ride 2 It" and "Tropical Fantasy". In the former, he offers some insight into the bad state of the ghetto, but keeps his views optimistic and tells his people to stay strong, all while backed by a hard-hitting beat that could make this into a club track. On the latter, he teams up with Jean Grae as they both escape the harshness of reality and create their own utopia. The chemistry between Akir and Grae on this track is no less than amazing, making it one of my personal favorite tracks. They aren't politically charged tracks, but they bring versatility to the album, which is a very good thing.

But, this album isn't without its problems. By the second half of the album, the quality of the production somewhat falters and the beats are below standard. For example, "Resurrect" is a decent enough track, but the production is boring, and sounds way too similar to "Change of the Seasons" (which, ironically comes right before this). And "These R the Blues", which finds Akir recounting his day-to-day struggle in the projects, is decent enough, but the production is bland and out of place. I may have been expecting too much, but for a song with the title "These R the Blues", I was expecting the production to be a little more ... bluesy. Another issue I have with the album as a whole is that it may have been a bit too long. Nothing is wrong with a long album, but you can't help but think that some of these songs are filler. Two tracks in particular, "Pedigree" and "So Much" are practically throwaways. Akir covers these same subjects elsewhere on the album (and better, I might add) plus the production on both tracks are mediocre so their both really worthless. One more thing I really think that's holding him back is his annunciation: he doesn't annunciate his words clearly enough. Sometimes, he's saying way too many words and his diction and clarity suffers. I should know because I have run into this problem myself when making my own music. If Akir can rise above this, then nothing is stopping him.

On "Legacy", Akir will make you smile and nod your head. You can't help but admire the way this guy holds it down, with varied concepts, dope beats, and dope rhymes. Despite a few missteps, "Legacy" is a solid debut, enjoyable from start to finish. True, he may sound somewhat similar to Nas, but that's not the kind of pressure that he needs. He doesn't need to be compared to a man who has allowed to his image to change so much over the year that he's just a convoluted enigma. Hopefully, Akir won't follow in Nas' footsteps and let that happen to him. Akir's music has the ability to make you think, which is something a lot of music (in Hip-Hop and other genres as well) really needs. Bottom line, if you're tired of the emptiness in Hip-Hop today and you're looking for something with substance, "Legacy" is a must hear.

FINAL RATING: 4 Stars

Tracklisting:
1. The Initiation (NOT RATED)
2. Rites of Passage (5 Stars)
3. Mood Music (5 Stars)
4. Grind (5 Stars)
5. Treason feat. Immortal Technique (4 1/2 Stars)
6. This is Your Life (Pt. 2) (5 Stars)
7. Kunta Kinte (5 Stars)
8. Politricks (5 Stars)
9. Apocalypse (4 Stars)
10. Change of the Seasons feat. Hasan Salaam (5 Stars)
11. Resurect feat. Akua Wilder and Krystl Yardon (3 Stars)
12. Ride 2 It (4 Stars)
13. No Longer My Home feat. Mojo (5 Stars)
14. These R the Blues (3 Stars)
15. Pedigree (2 Stars)
16. So Much (2 Stars)
17. Homeward Bound (5 Stars)
18. Tropical Fantasy feat. Jean Grae (5 Stars)
19. Legacy feat. Mas-D and Veks-One (5 Stars)
20. The Louisiana Purchase feat. Immortal Technique, Poison Pen, and Mojo (3 1/2 Stars)

Recommended: Yes